Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

and

Forest Conservation Rules, 2003

(Guidelines & Clarifications)

Handbook of

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Government of India

2019

https://www.myperfectresume.com/membership/RegisterGuestUser.aspx?wizard=true&productid=17&utm_source=hloom-com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=word-template

1

Table of Contents

1. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS …………………………………………. 2

PART A

1. FOREST (CONSERVATION) ACT, 1980 …………………………………... 4

WITH AMENDMENTS MADE IN 1988

2. FOREST CONSERVATION (RULES), 2003 ………………………………… 6

(AMENDED UP TO AUGUST 2017)

PART B

1. COURT ORDERS AND GENERAL CLARIFICATIONS ………….……… 38

2. COMPENSATORY AFFORESTATION ………………………………… 45

3. NET PRESENT VALUE …………………………………………………..…… 53

4. GENERAL APPROVAL UNDER FCA SECTION 2(ii) –

CRITICAL PUBLIC & STRATEGIC DEFENCE INFRASTRUCTURE … 57

5. TRANSFER/RE-DIVERSION………….…….……………………………….. 64

6. SURVEY AND INVESTIGATION ………………………………………….. 69

7. MINING PROJECTS ……………..………………………………………….. 72

8. WIND ENERGY ……………………………………………………..………. 79

9. IRRIGATION & HYDRO-ELECTRIC PROJECTS, INCLUDING CATCHMENT AREA TREATMENT (CAT) PLAN………………………. 80

10. TRANSMISSION LINES ……………………………………………………. 82

11. INFRASTRUCTURAL PROJECTS INCL. ROADS, RAILWAY LINES, BORDER ROADS, CRITICAL UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE

DEVELOPMENT, RESIDENTIAL/ BUILDING CONSTRUCTION …… 84

12. PROJECTS IN/NEAR PROTECTED AREAS INCLUDING ZOOs ……. 88

13. ANNEXURE ………………………………………………………………. 91

PART C

1. CONDITIONS STIPULATED BY MoEF&CC WHILE ACCORDING PRIOR APPROVAL (STAGE-1/ STAGE-II) FOR NON FOREST USE OF

FOREST LAND UNDER FCA, 1980 ……………………………………….. 106

2

Abbreviations

ACF Assistant Conservator of Forest

APCCF Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests

BRO Border Road Organisation

CA Compensatory Afforestation

CCF Chief Conservator of Forests

CF Conservator of Forest

CZA Central Zoo Authority

DFO Divisional Forest Officer

ESZ Eco Sensitive Zone

FAC Forest Advisory Committee

FCA Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

HEP Hydro Electric Project

IFA Indian Forest Act, 1927

ITBP Indo-Tibetan Border Police

LAC Line of Actual Control

MDDA Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority

MHA Ministry of Home Affairs

NHIDCL National Highways and Infrastructure Development

Corporation Limited

NPV Net Present Value

OFC Optical Fibre Cable

PA Protected Areas

PCCF Principal Chief Conservator of Forests

PMGSY Pradhan Mantri Gramya Sadak Yojna

PSU’ Public Sector Undertakings

RCCF Regional Chief Conservator of Forest

REC Regional Empowered Committee

RO Regional Office

RoW Right of Way

SEZ Special Economic Zone

UA User Agency

WPA Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

3

PART A

4

FOREST (CONSERVATION) ACT, 1980 WITH AMENDMENTS

MADE IN 1988

An Act to provide for the conservation of forests and for matters connected therewith or

ancillary or incidental thereto.

Be it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-first Year of the Republic of India as follows: -

1. Short title, extent and commencement-

(1) This Act may be called the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.

(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 25th day of October 1980.

2. Restriction on the de-reservation of forests or use of forest land for non-forest purpose

Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force in a

State, no State Government or other authority shall make, except with the prior approval

of the Central Government, any order directing -

i) that any reserved forest (within the meaning of the expression "reserved forest" in any law for the time being in force in that State) or any portion thereof, shall cease to be

reserved;

ii) that any forest land or any portion thereof may be used for any non-forest purpose;

iii) that any forest land or any portion thereof may be assigned by way of lease or otherwise to any private person or to any authority, corporation, agency or any other organisation

not owned, managed or controlled by Government;

iv) that any forest land or any portion thereof may be cleared of trees which have grown naturally in that land or portion, for the purpose of using it for reafforestation.

Explanation - For the purpose of this section, "non-forest purpose" means the breaking up or

clearing of any forest land or portion thereof for-

a) the cultivation of tea, coffee, spices, rubber, palms, oil-bearing plants, horticultural crops or medicinal plants;

b) any purpose other than reafforestation;

but does not include any work relating or ancillary to conservation, development and

management of forests and wildlife, namely, the establishment of check-posts, fire lines,

wireless communications and construction of fencing, bridges and culverts, dams,

waterholes, trench marks, boundary marks, pipelines or other like purposes.

3. Constitution of Advisory Committee

The Central Government may constitute a Committee consisting of such number of persons

as it may deem fit to advise that Government with regard to-

i) the grant of approval under Section 2; and

ii) any other matter connected with the conservation of forests which may be referred to it by the Central Government.

3A. Penalty for contravention of the provisions of the Act

5

Whoever contravenes or abets the contravention of any of the provisions of Section 2,

shall be punishable with simple imprisonment for a period, which may extend to fifteen

days.

3B. Offences by the Authorities and Government Departments

1) Where any offence under this Act has been committed -

(a) by any department of Government, the head of the department; or

(b) by any authority, every person who, at the time the offence was committed, was directly

in charge of, and was responsible to, the authority for the conduct of the business of the

authority as well as the authority;

shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and

punished accordingly:

Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render the head of the

department or any person referred to in clause (b), liable to any punishment if he proves

that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due

diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.

2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence punishable under the Act has been committed by a department of Government or any authority

referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1) and it is proved that the offence has been

committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the

part of any officer, other than the head of the department, or in the case of an authority,

any person other than the persons referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1), such

officer or persons shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to

be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

4. Power to make rules

1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act.

2) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which

may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the

expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions

aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses

agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such

modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such

modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything

previously done under that rule.

5. Repeal and saving

(1) The Forest (Conservation) Ordinance, 1980 is hereby replaced.

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the provisions of

the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding

provisions of this Act.

* * * * * *

6

Forest Conservation (Rules), 2003 (amended up to August 2017) Ministry of Environment and Forests

Notification

New Delhi, the 10thJanuary, 2003

G.S.R.23(E): - In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 4 of the

Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (69 of 1980), and in supersession of the Forest

(Conservation) Rules, 1981, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such

supersession, the Central Government hereby makes the following rules, namely: -

1. Short title, extent and commencement

(1) These rules may be called the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003.

(2) They shall extend to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

(3) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Definitions - In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires: -

(a) "Act" means the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (69 of 1980);

(b) “Committee" means the Forest Advisory Committee constituted under section 3 of the

Act;

1(ba) “Conservator of Forests” means an officer appointed by the State Government or the

Union Territory Administration, as the case may be, under the designation of Conservator

of Forests or the Chief Conservator of Forests or the Regional Chief Conservator of

Forests or any such similar designation, to hold charge of a Forest Circle having

jurisdiction over the forest land for which the approval of the Central Government under

the Act is required;

(c) “Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Committee;

1(ca) “Divisional Forest Officer” means an officer appointed by the State Government or the

Union territory Administration, as the case may be, under the designation of the Divisional

Forest Officer or the Deputy Conservator of Forests or any such similar designation, to

hold charge of a Forest Division having jurisdiction over the forest land for which the

approval of the Central Government under the Act is required;

2(caa) "District Collector" means an officer appointed by the State Government or the Union

territory Administration, as the case may be, under the designation of District Collector or

Deputy Commissioner or any such similar designation, to hold charge of the

administration of the revenue district having jurisdiction over the forest land for which the

approval of the Central Government under the Act is required;

3(cb) “Chairperson of the Regional empowered Committee” means chairperson of each of the

Regional Empowered Committees constituted under rule 4A;

1(cc) “Head of the Regional Office” means senior-most officer in the rank of Additional

1Inserted vide GSR 185 (E) dated 14th March, 2014 2 Inserted vide GSR 200 (E) dated 6th March 2017. 3 Inserted vide GSR 713(E) dated 10th Oct., 2014.

7

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests or Chief Conservator of Forests appointed by the

Central Government at Regional Office to deal with the forest conservation matters

under the Act;

1(cd) “linear projects” means projects involving linear diversion of forest land for purposes

such as roads, pipelines, transmission lines etc.;

(d) “Member" means a member of the Committee;

(e) “Nodal Officer” means any officer not below the rank of Conservator of Forests,

authorised by the State Government to deal with the forest conservation matters under

the Act;

(f) “Regional Office” means a Regional Office of the Central Government in the Ministry of

Environment and Forests established as part of the Ministry to deal with the forest

conservation matters under the Act;

(g) “Section" means a section of the Act;

(h) “User Agency” means any person, organisation or Company or Department of the Central

or State Government making a request for diversion or de-notification of forest land for

non-forest purpose or using forest land for non-forest purpose in accordance with the

permission granted by the Central Government under the Act or the rules.

3. Composition of the Committee

(1)The Committee shall be composed of the following members: -

(i) Director General of Forests,

Ministry of Environment and Forests - Chairperson

(ii) Additional Director General of Forests,

Ministry of Environment and Forests- Member

(iii) Additional Commissioner (Soil Conservation),

Ministry of Agriculture- Member

(iv) Three non-official members who shall be experts

one each in Mining, Civil Engineering, and

Development Economics - Members

(v) Inspector General of Forests (Forest Conservation),

Ministry of Environment and Forests - Member Secretary

(2) Additional Director General of Forests shall act as the Chairperson in the absence of

Director General of Forests

4. Terms of appointment of non-official members shall be as follows -

(i) a non-official member shall hold his office for a period of two years;

(ii) a non-official member shall cease to hold office if he becomes of unsound mind,

becomes insolvent or is convicted by court of law on a criminal offence involving

moral turpitude;

8

(iii) a non-official member may be removed from his office if he fails to attend three

consecutive meetings of the Committee without any sufficient cause or reasons;

(iv) any vacancy in the membership caused by any reason mentioned in clauses (ii) and

(iii) shall be filled by the Government for the unexpired portion of two years term.

(v) travelling and daily allowance shall be payable to the non-official members of the

Committee at the highest rate admissible to the Government servants of Group 'A'

under the rules and orders made by the Central Government and for the time being in

force.

Provided that the payment of travelling allowance and daily allowance to a member

who is a Member of the Parliament or a Member of a State Legislature shall be

regulated in accordance with the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of

Parliament Act, 1954 (30 of 1954) or the respective provisions of law pertaining to

the member of the concerned State Legislature.

44-A Constitution of Regional Empowered Committee

(l) The Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette, shall constitute a

Regional Empowered Committee at each of the Regional Offices.

(2) The Regional Empowered Committee at each of the Regional Offices shall consist of the

following members to be appointed by the Central Government to deal with the forest

conservation matters, namely:

(i) Head of the Regional Office; Chairperson

(ii) Senior most officer from amongst officers

in the rank of Chief Conservator of Forests or

Conservator of Forests in the Regional Office; Member

(iii) Three non-official members from amongst

eminent persons who are experts in the forestry

and allied disciplines; Members

(iv) Senior most officer from amongst officers

in the rank of Deputy Conservator of Forests in

the Regional Office. Member- Secretary

(3) Representatives of the State Government or the Union Territory Administration, as the

case may be, not below the rank of a Director to the Government of India, one each from

Forest Department and Revenue Department shall also be invited to attend meeting of

the Regional Empowered Committee as special invitee, in the examination of the

proposals pertaining to such State or Union Territory Administration, as the case may be.

(4) The terms of appointment of non-official members shall be as specified in rule 4.

5. Conduct of business of the Committee -

4 Substituted vide GSR 713(E) dated 10th Oct., 2014.

9

(i) The Chairperson shall call the meeting of the Committee whenever considered

necessary, but not less than once in a month.

(ii) The meeting of the Committee shall be held at New Delhi.

(iii) In a case where the Chairperson is satisfied that inspection of site or sites of forest

land proposed to be used for non-forest purposes shall be necessary or expedient in

connection with the consideration of the proposal or proposals received under sub-rule

(3) of rule 6, he may direct that the meetings of the Committee to be held at a place

other than New Delhi from where such inspection of site or sites is necessary.

(iv) The Chairperson shall preside over every meeting of the Committee at which he is

present.

(v) Every question upon which the Central Government is required to be advised shall be

considered in the meeting of the Committee provided that in urgent cases if the

meeting cannot be convened within a month, the Chairperson may direct that papers

may be circulated and sent to the members for their opinion within the stipulated time.

(vi) The quorum of the meeting of the committee shall be three.

55A Conduct of Business of the Regional Empowered Committee

1) The Chairperson of the Regional Empowered Committee shall hold the meeting of the Regional Empowered Committee whenever considered necessary, but not less than once

in a month.

2) The meetings of the Regional Empowered Committee shall be held at the headquarters of the Regional Office:

Provided that where the Chairperson of the Regional Empowered Committee is

satisfied that inspection of site or sites of forest land proposed to be used for non-

forest purposes shall be necessary or expedient in connection with the consideration

of the proposals referred to the Regional Empowered Committee, he may direct that

the meetings of the Regional Empowered Committee be held at a place other than

headquarters of the Regional Office for such inspection of site or sites.

3) The Chairperson of the Regional Empowered Committee shall preside over every meeting of the Regional Empowered Committee:

Provided that in the absence of Chairperson of the Regional Empowered Committee,

the senior most member in the rank of the Chief Conservator of Forests or the

Conservator of Forests shall act as the Chairperson of the Regional Empowered

Committee.

4) Every proposal referred to the Regional Empowered Committee for advice ordecision shall be considered in the meeting of the Regional Empowered Committee:

Provided that in urgent cases if the meeting cannot be convened within a month, the

Chairperson of the Regional Empowered Committee may direct that papers may be

circulated and sent to members of the Regional Empowered Committee for their

opinion within the stipulated time.

5) The quorum of the meeting of the Regional Empowered Committee shall be three.

66. Submission of proposal seeking approval of the Central Government under section 2

5 Inserted vide GSR 713(E) dated 10th Oct., 2014.

10

of the Act -

(1) Every User Agency that wants to use any forest land for non-forest purposes, shall

make its proposal in the relevant Form appended to these rules, namely; Form ‘A’ for

proposal seeking first time approval under the Act, Form ‘B’ for proposal seeking

renewal of leases, where approval of the Central Government under the Act had

already been obtained, and Form ‘C’ for prospecting of minerals, to the Nodal Officer

of the concerned State Government or the Union Territory Administration, as the case

may be, along with requisite information and documents, complete in all respect.

(2) The User Agency shall endorse a copy of the proposal, along with a copy of the

receipt obtained from the office of the Nodal Officer to the concerned Divisional

Forest Officer, District Collector and Regional Office as well as the Monitoring Cell

of the Forest Conservation Division of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and

Climate Change.

(3) (a) The Nodal Officer of the State Government or the Union Territory Administration, as

the case may be, after having received the proposal under sub-rule (1) and on being

satisfied that the proposal is complete in all respects and requires prior approval under

section 2 of the Act, shall send the proposal to the concerned Divisional Forest

Officer and the District Collector within a period of ten days of the receipt of the

proposal.

(b) If the Nodal Officer of the State Government or the Union territory Administration, as

the case may be, finds that the proposal is incomplete, he shall return it within a

period of ten days to the User Agency and this time period and the time taken by the

User Agency to re-submit the proposal shall not be counted for any future reference.

(c) The Divisional Forest Officer shall examine the factual details and feasibility of the

proposal, certify the maps, carry out site-inspection and enumeration of the trees and

forward his findings in the Format specified in this regard to the Conservator of

Forests.

(d) The Divisional Forest Officer shall process and forward the application along with his

findings on the proposal involving forest land upto forty hectares, above forty

hectares and up to one hundred hectares and above one hundred hectares to the

Conservator of Forests within a period of thirty days, forty-five days and sixty days

respectively.

7(e) The District Collector shall-

(i) complete the process of recognition and vesting of forest rights in accordance with

the provisions of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers

(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (2 of 2007) for the entire forest land

indicated in the proposal;

(ii) obtain consent of each Gram Sabha having jurisdiction over the whole or a

part of the forest land indicated in the proposal for the diversion of such forest

land and compensatory and ameliorative measures, if any, having understood

the purposes and details of diversion, wherever required; and

(iii) forward his findings in this regard to the Conservator of Forests;

6 Substituted vide GSR 185 (E) dated 14th March, 2014 7 Substituted vide GSR 200 (e) dated 6th March 2017.

11

7(f) the entire process referred to in clause (e) shall be completed by the District Collector

within the time period stipulated in these rules for grant of in-principle approval under

the Act to the proposal;

7(g) the Conservator of Forests shall examine the factual details and feasibility of the

proposal, carry out site- inspection in case the area of forest land proposed to be

diverted is more than forty hectares, and forward the proposal along with his

recommendations to the Nodal Officer;

(h) The time taken by the Conservator of Forests to process and forward to the Nodal

Officer the proposal involving forest land up to forty hectares and above forty

hectares shall not be more than ten days and thirty days respectively.

(i) The Nodal Officer, through the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, shall forward

the proposal to the State Government or the Union territory Administration, as the

case may be, along with his recommendations.

(j) The Nodal Officer shall process and forward the proposal along with his findings on

the proposal involving forest land, up to five hectares, above five hectares and up to

forty hectares, above forty hectares up to one hundred hectares and above one

hundred hectares, to the State Government or the Union territory Administration, as

the case may be, within a period of ten days, twenty days, twenty five days and thirty

days respectively.

(k) In case the State Government or the Union territory Administration, as the case may

be, decides not to, de-reserve or divert for non-forest purpose or assign on lease the

forest land indicated in the proposal, as the case may be, the same shall be intimated

to the User Agency within thirty days of the receipt of proposal from the Nodal

Officer:

Provided, all proposals involving diversion of forest land for projects of the Central

Government or Central Government Undertakings where the State Government or the

Union territory Administration, as the case may be, does not agree in–principle to de-

reserve or divert for non-forest purpose or assign on lease the forest land indicated in

the proposal, as the case may be, shall be forwarded to the Central Government along

with comments of the State Government or the Union territory Administration, as the

case may be.

(l) The State Government or the Union territory Administration, as the case may be, shall

forward along with its recommendations all those proposals where State Government

or the Union Territory Administration, as the case may be, agrees in-principle to de-

reserve or divert for non-forest purpose or assign on lease the forest land indicated in

the proposal, as the case may be, and all proposals involving diversion of forest land

for projects of the Central Government or Central Government Undertakings, to the

Central Government within thirty days:

Provided that all proposals involving felling of trees on forest land or a portion thereof

for the purpose of using it for reafforestation shall be sent in the form of Working Plan

or Working Scheme or Management Plan:

Provided further that the concerned State Government or the Union territory

Administration, as the case may be, shall simultaneously send the intimation to the

12

User Agency about forwarding of the proposal, along with its recommendations, to the

Regional Office or the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, as the

case may be;

Provided also that total time taken exclusively for transit of a proposal between various

authorities in the State Government or the Union Territory Administration, as the case

may be, shall not be more than twenty days, over and above the time period specified

for processing of proposal by each authority.

(m) Whenever the time taken by the State Government or the Union territory

Administration, as the case may be, for processing the proposal exceeds the time limits

stipulated in clauses (a) to (l) above, the proposal shall be considered by the Central

Government only if an explanation for the delay is furnished to the satisfaction of the

Central Government, together with action taken against any individual held to be

responsible for the delay.

(4) 8 (a) The proposal referred to in clause (l) of sub-rule (3), involving forest land up to

forty hectares and all proposals related to linear projects irrespective of the area of

forest land involved, shall be forwarded by the concerned State Government or the

Union Territory Administration, as the case may be along with its recommendations to

the concerned Regional Office.

8 (b) The proposal referred to in clause (1) of sub rule (3), involving forest land of more than

40 hectares, other than proposals related to linear projects shall be forwarded by the

concerned State Government or the Union Territory Administration, as the case may

be, along with its recommendations, to the Secretary, Government of India of Ministry

of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change.

(c) The proposals referred to in clause (l) of sub-rule (3), involving clearing of trees in

forest land or portion thereof for the purpose of using it for re-afforestation shall be sent

to the concerned Regional Office.

9(5) (a) notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, the proposal to obtain approval

under the Act to undertake prospecting of minerals without felling of trees and

construction of new road or path in mining blocks falling outside the protected areas,

eco-sensitive zone of protected areas, identified tiger corridors and having no forest

cover of more than ten percent crown density as per the latest India State of Forest

Report published by the Forest Survey of India, shall be submitted by the User Agency

in a letter form along with a geo-referenced map indicating boundary of the prospecting

block, location of each bore-hole site and roads or paths to be used for prospecting; and

a certificate to the effect that the proposal meets the afore-mentioned requirements to

the Nodal Officer;

(b) the Nodal Officer, after having received the proposal under clause (a) and on being

satisfied that the geo- referenced map and the certificate are in order, shall send the

proposal to the Divisional Forest Officer within a period of ten days of the receipt of

the proposal;

(c) if the Nodal Officer, finds that the geo-referenced map or the certificate are not in

order, he shall return the proposal within a period of ten days to the User Agency and

the said period taken by the Nodal Officer and the time taken by the User Agency to re-

8Substituted vide GSR 713 dated 10th October 2014. 9 Inserted vide GSR 200 (E) dated 6th March 2017.

13

submit the geo-referenced map and the certificate shall not be counted for any future

reference;

(d) the Divisional Forest Officer shall authenticate the geo-referenced map and certificate

submitted by the User Agency and forward the same directly to the State Government

or Union territory Administration, as the case may be, or an officer not below the rank

of the Nodal Officer, authorized by the State Government or Union territory

Administration, as the case may be, to finally dispose of such proposals, within thirty

days of its receipt;

(e) the State Government or the Union territory Administration, as the case may be, or the

officer not below the rank of the Nodal Officer, duly authorized by the State

Government or the Union territory Administration, as the case may be, to finally

dispose of such proposals, after examination of the geo- referenced map and certificate

and after such further enquiry as it may consider necessary, grant permission for

prospecting of minerals subject to fulfillment of stipulated conditions, or reject the

same within twenty-five days of receipt of the proposal from the Divisional Forest

Officer and communicate the same to the concerned Divisional Forest Officer and the

User Agency, within next five days;

10(6) (a) notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, proposal to obtain approval under

the Act to undertake prospecting of minerals without felling of trees and construction of

new road or path in mining blocks falling outside the protected areas, eco-sensitive

zone of protected areas, identified tiger corridors and having no forest cover of more

than forty percent crown density as per the latest India State of Forest Report published

by the Forest Survey of India, shall also be submitted in a letter form along with a geo-

referenced map indicating boundary of the prospecting block, location of each bore-

hole site and roads or paths to be used for prospecting; and a certificate to the effect

that the proposal meets the afore-mentioned requirements to the Nodal Officer;

(b) the Nodal Officer, after having received the proposal under clause (a) and on being

satisfied that the geo-referenced map and the certificate are in order, shall send the

proposal to the Divisional Forest Officer within a period of ten days of the receipt of

the proposal;

(c) if the Nodal Officer, finds that the geo-referenced map or the certificate are not in

order, he shall return the proposal to the User Agency within a period of ten days and

the said period taken by the Nodal Officer and the time taken by the User Agency to re-

submit the proposal shall not be counted for any future reference;

(d) the Divisional Forest Officer shall authenticate the geo-referenced map and certificate

submitted by the User Agency and forward the same directly to the Nodal officer,

within a period of thirty days of receipt of the geo-referenced map and the certificate;

(e) the proposal received by the Nodal Officer under clause (d) shall be further processed

in the manner and within the period as provided in clause (i) to clause (m) of sub-rule

(3) and sub-rule (4) of rule 6 and rule 7 of these rules.”;

117. Processing of proposals received by the Central Government. –

(1) (a) The Regional Office, after having received the proposal referred in clause (a) and

clause (c) of sub-rule (4) of rule 6 shall determine the completeness of proposal within

10 Inserted vide GSR 200 (E) dated 6th March 2017. 11 Substituted vide GSR 185 (E) dated 14th March, 2014

14

five working days.

(b) If the Regional Office finds that the proposal is incomplete, it shall return it within

the period of five working days as specified under clause (a), to the State Government or

the Union Territory Administration, as the case may be, and this time period and the time

taken by the State Government to re-submit the proposal shall not be counted for any

future reference.

12(2) (a) The regional office shall after examination of the proposal involving forest land up to

5 hectares other than the proposal relating to mining, encroachments, and hydel projects,

which are complete in all respect, and after such further enquiry as it may consider

necessary, grant in-principle approval subject to fulfillment of stipulated conditions, or

reject the same within twenty five days of its receipt form the State Government or the

United Territory Administration, as the case may be, and communicate the same to the

concerned State Government or the United Territory Administration, as the case may be,

within next five days.

13(b) In case a proposal involves forest land more than one hundred hectares or renewal

of lease, Regional Office shall within forty-five days of the receipt of the proposal

complete in all respects from the State Government or the Union Territory

Administration, as the case may be, inspect the forest land proposed to be diverted and

prepare a site inspection report:

Provided that in case of the proposals seeking approval under the Act for prospecting of

minerals in forest land, prior site inspection by the Regional Office shall be required only

if the area of forest land required for construction of roads, paths, drilling of bore holes

and all such non-forest purpose is more than one hundred hectares.

(c)Regional office shall refer all proposals involving forest land above 5 hectares and up

to forty hectares, proposals relating to mining, encroachments, and hydel projects

involving forest land up to 5 hectares, and all proposals related to linear projects which

are complete in all respect, including site inspection report, wherever required, to the

Regional Empowered Committee within ten days of receipt form the State Government

or the United Territory Administration, as the case may be:

Provided that the proposals referred to in clause (b) above shall be referred to the

Regional Empowered Committee within five days of receipt of the site inspection report.

(d) The Regional Empowered Committee shall within a period of thirty days examine the

proposal referred to it under clause(c) above and after such further enquiry as it may

consider necessary, grant in-principle approval to the proposals other than proposals

relating to mining, encroachment and hydel projects subject to fulfillment of stipulated

conditions, or reject the same and the Regional Office shall communicate the decision of

the Regional Empowered Committee to the concerned State Government or the United

Territory Administration, as the case may be, within next five working days.

(e) The Regional Empowered Committee shall within a period of thirty days examine the

proposals relating to mining, encroachments, and hydel projects involving diversion of

forest land up to forty hectares and tender its advice:

12 Substituted vide GSR 713(E) dated 10th October, 2014. 13 Substituted vide GSR 200 (e) dated 6th March 2017.

15

Provided the Regional empowered Committee may suggest such conditions or

restrictions if any, required to be imposed on the use of any forest land for non-forest

purpose, which in its opinion would minimize adverse environmental impact.

(f) The Regional office shall within a period of five days of the receipt of the advice of

the Regional Empowered Committee on proposals referred to it under clause (e) above,

forward such proposal along with advice of the Regional Empowered Committee to the

Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change for obtaining the

decision of the Central Government, provided that time taken in transit of proposal from

Regional Office to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change shall not

be more than five days.

(g) The Central Government shall, after considering the advice of the Regional

Empowered Committee and after further enquiry as it may deem necessary, grant in-

principle approval subject to fulfillment of stipulated conditions, or reject the same

within thirty days of its receipt from the regional office and communicate the same to the

concerned State Government or the United Territory Administration, as the case may be,

within next five working days.

(3) (a) All proposals involving clearing of trees in forest land or portion thereof for the

purpose of using it for re-afforestation shall be finally disposed of by the Regional Office

within a period of sixty days of receipt of the proposals from the State Government or

the Union territory Administration, as the case may be.

(b) While examining the proposal, the Regional Office shall ensure that the final decision

is in conformity with the National Forest Policy, Working Plan guidelines and other

relevant rules and guidelines issued by the Central Government from time to time.

(c) The Regional Office shall however seek prior clearance of the Ministry of

Environment, Forests and Climate Change whenever the proposal involves clear-felling

of forest land having crown density above forty per cent irrespective of the area

involved, or clear-felling of forest area of size more than twenty hectares in the plains

and ten hectares in the hilly region, irrespective of density.

(4) (a) The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change after having received the

proposal referred to in clause (b) of sub-rule (4) of rule 6 shall determine the

completeness of the proposal within ten days.

(b) If the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change finds that the proposal is

incomplete, it shall return it within the period of ten days as specified under clause (a), to

the State Government or the Union territory Administration, as the case may be, and this

time period and the time taken by the State Government to re-submit the proposal shall

not be counted for any future reference.

14(c) in case the proposal involves forest land more than one hundred hectares or renewal of

lease, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change shall within ten days of

the receipt of a proposal complete in all respects, request the concerned Regional Office

to inspect the forest land proposed to be diverted and submit a report to the Ministry of

Environment, Forests and Climate Change within a period of forty-five days:

Provided that in case of the proposals seeking approval under the Act for prospecting of

minerals in forest land, prior site inspection by the Regional Office shall be required only

14 Substituted vide GSR 200 (E) dated 6th March 2017.

16

if the area of forest land actually required for construction of roads, paths, drilling of

bore holes and all such non-forest purpose is more than one hundred hectares:

Provided further that the total time taken in communication of the request for site

inspection from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to Regional

Office and communication of the site inspection report from the Regional Office to the

Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change shall not be more than ten days,

over and above the time taken in undertaking site inspection by the Regional Office.

(d) The Central Government shall refer every proposal, which is complete in all respects,

received by it under clause (b) of sub-rule (4) of rule 6 including site inspection reports,

wherever required, to the Committee for its advice and the Committee shall give its

advice within thirty days from the date of receipt of the said proposal.

(e) The Committee shall have due regard to all or any of the following matters while

tendering its advice on the proposals referred to it under clause (d), namely: -

(i) whether the forests land proposed to be used for non-forest purpose forms part of a

nature reserve, national park, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or forms part of

the habitat of any endangered or threatened species of flora and fauna or of an area

lying in severely eroded catchment;

(ii) whether the use of any forest land is for agricultural purposes or for the rehabilitation

of persons displaced from their residences by reason of any river valley or hydro-

electric project;

(iii) whether the State Government or the Union territory Administration, as the case

may be, has certified that it has considered all other alternatives and that no other

alternatives in the circumstances are feasible and that the required area is the

minimum needed for the purpose;

(iv)whether the State Government or the Union territory Administration, as the case may

be, undertakes to provide at its cost for the acquisition of land of an equivalent area

and afforestation thereof;

(v) whether the per unit requirement of forest land is significantly higher than the

national average for similar projects; and

(vi) whether the State Government or the Union territory Administration, as the case

may be, before making their recommendation has considered all issues having direct

and indirect impact of the diversion of forest land on forest, wildlife and

environment.

(f) While tendering advice, the Committee may also suggest any condition or restriction

on the use of any forest land for any non-forest purpose, which in its opinion would

minimize adverse environmental impact.

(g) The Central Government shall, after considering the advice of the Committee under

clause (e) and clause (f) and after such further enquiry as it may consider necessary,

grant in-principle approval subject to fulfillment of stipulated conditions, or reject the

same within thirty days of the receipt of advice from the Committee and communicate

the same to the concerned State Government or the Union territory Administration, as

the case may be, within next five working days.

17

158. Submission of report on compliance to conditions stipulated in the in-principle

approval and grant of final approval.

(1)(a) The Nodal Officer shall within five days of receipt of the in-principle approval,

endorse a copy of the same to the concerned Divisional Forest Officer and the Conservator

of Forests;

(b) On receipt of a copy of the in-principle approval, the Divisional Forest Officer shall

prepare a demand note containing item-wise amount of compensatory levies such as cost

of creation and maintenance of compensatory afforestation, Net Present Value (NPV), cost

of implementation of catchment area treatment plan or wildlife conservation plan etc. to be

paid by the User Agency and communicate the same, along with a list of documents,

certificates and undertakings required to be submitted by the User Agency in compliance

with the conditions stipulated in the in-principle approval to the User Agency within ten

days of the receipt of a copy of the in-principle approval.

(c) The User Agency shall within thirty days of receipt of demand note and list of

documents, certificates and undertakings from the Divisional Forest Officer make

payment of compensatory levies and submit a compliance report containing a copy of

documentary evidence in respect of the payment of compensatory levies along with

documents, certificates and undertakings indicated in the said list to Divisional Forest

Officer.

(d) The Divisional Forest Officer, after having received the compliance report shall

determine its completeness within a period of fifteen days of its receipt from the User

Agency.

(e) If the Divisional Forest Officer finds that the compliance report is incomplete, he shall

communicate the shortcoming or shortcomings in the compliance report to the User

Agency within a period of fifteen days of its receipt from the User Agency and if the

compliance report is complete in all respect, it shall be forwarded to the Conservator of

Forests within a period of fifteen days of its receipt from the User Agency.

(f) The Conservator of Forests, after having received the compliance report shall

determine its completeness within a period of fifteen days of its receipt from the

Divisional Forest Officer.

16(g) in case the Conservator of Forests finds that the compliance report is complete in all

respect, he shall forward such report along with the report on completion of the process of

recognition and vesting of forest rights and consent of the each Gram Sabha received from

the District Collector referred to in sub-clause (f) of sub-rule (3) of rule 6, to the Nodal

Officer within a period of fifteen days of its receipt from the Divisional Forest Officer:

Provided that in case the Conservator of Forests finds that the compliance report is

incomplete, he shall communicate the shortcoming or shortcomings in the compliance

report to the User Agency and the Divisional Forest Officer within a period of fifteen days

of its receipt from the Divisional Forest Officer;

(h) The Nodal Officer, after having received the compliance report shall determine its

completeness within a period of fifteen days of its receipt from the Conservator of Forests.

16 (i) in case the Nodal Officer finds that the compliance report is complete in all respect, he

15 Substituted vide GSR 185 (E) dated 14th March, 2014 16Substituted vide GSR 200 (e) dated 6th March 2017.

18

shall forward such report to the State Government or Union territory Administration, as

the case may be, within a period of fifteen days of its receipt from the Conservator of

Forests:

Provided that the State Government or the Union Territory Administration, as the case

may be, may authorize the Nodal Officer to send the compliance report directly to the

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change or the Regional Office, as the case

may be;

Provided further that in case the Nodal Officer finds that the compliance report is

incomplete, he shall communicate the shortcoming or shortcomings in the compliance

report to the User Agency, the Conservator of Forests and the Divisional Forest Officer

within a period of fifteen days of its receipt from the Conservator of Forests;

(j) The State Government or Union territory Administration, as the case may be, after

having received the compliance report shall determine its completeness within a period of

fifteen days of its receipt from the Nodal Officer.

(k) If the State Government or Union territory Administration, as the case may be, finds

that the compliance report is incomplete, it shall communicate the shortcoming or

shortcomings in the compliance report to the User Agency, the Nodal Officer, the

Conservator of Forests and the Divisional Forest Officer within a period of fifteen days of

its receipt from the Nodal Officer and if the compliance report is complete in all respects,

it shall be forwarded to the Ministry of Environment and Forests or the Regional Office, as

the case may be, within a period of fifteen days of its receipt from the Nodal Officer.

(l) The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change or the Regional Office, as

the case may be, after having received the compliance report shall determine its

completeness within a period of fifteen days.

17(m) in case the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change or the Regional

Office, as the case may be, finds that the compliance report is complete in all respect, it

shall accord the final approval under the Act and communicate such approval to the State

Government or the Union Territory Administration, as the case may be, within a period of

twenty days of the receipt of the compliance report:

Provided that in case the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change or the

Regional Office, as the case may be, finds that the compliance report is incomplete, the

shortcoming or shortcomings in the compliance report shall be communicated to the State

Government or the Union territory Administration, as the case may be, to the Nodal

Officer and the User Agency, within a period of twenty days of the receipt of the

compliance report.

(n) The report on fulfillment of shortcoming or shortcomings in the compliance report

shall be processed and forwarded to authorities concerned in the State Government or the

Union territory administration, as the case may be, and Central Government in the manner

and within the time limits stipulated in clause (d) to clause (l) above.

(2)18(a) In cases where compliance of conditions in the in-principle approval is awaited for

more than five years from the State Government or the Union Territory Administration, as

the case may be, the in-principle approval may be summarily revoked:

17 Substituted vide GSR 200 (e) dated 6th March 2017. 18 Substituted vide GSR 713(E) dated 10th Oct., 2014

19

Provided that in cases where for valid and cogent reasons it has not been possible for

the User Agency or the State Government or the Union Territory Administration, as the

case may be, to comply with one or more of the conditions stipulated in the in-principle

approval for obtaining final approval, the Central Government may extend the period for

compliance of such conditions by further period as it deems fit.

(b)If the User Agency or the State Government or the Union territory Administration, as

the case may be, is still interested in the project, after its revocation, they may submit a

fresh proposal which shall be considered de-novo.

3 (a) In case, before submission of a report on compliance to conditions stipulated in the in-

principle approval accorded under the Act for a mining project by the State Government or

the Union territory Administration, as the case may be, and grant of final approval by the

Central Government within five years from the date of grant of in-principle approval,

validity of the mining lease expires, instead of submission of a de-novo proposal to obtain

approval of Central Government under the Act for diversion of such forest land, for

renewal of mining lease, the State Government or Union territory Administration, as the

case may be, while submitting report on compliance to conditions stipulated in the in-

principle approval may seek final approval of Central Government under the Act for

diversion of such forest land for original period of the mining lease for which in-principle

approval has already been accorded, and also for renewal of mining lease for a period, as

specified by the State Government and Union Territory Administration, as the case may

be, not exceeding twenty years.

(b) Report on compliance to statutes, circulars or directives, as applicable to such proposals,

which came into force after grant of in-principle approval, if any, shall also be submitted to

the Central Government along with the report on compliance to conditions stipulated in the

in-principle approval.

19(c) In cases, apart from grant of final approval under the Act for diversion of such forest

land for original period of mining lease, the central government, shall after considering

advice of the Forest Advisory Committee or the Regional Empowered Committee, as the case

may be, and after further enquiry as it may consider necessary, grant final approval to the

proposal of the State Government or the Union Territory Administration, as the case may be,

for renewal of the mining lease for a period, as may be specified by the Central Government,

not exceeding twenty years, with appropriate conditions, or reject the same.

19(d) Procedure stipulated in clauses (a) to (c) above, shall also be applicable to the cases

where in-principle approval under the Act for diversion of forest land has been accorded on a

day more than five years prior to the date of expiry of the lease and forvalid and cogent

reasons it has not been possible for the User Agency or the State Government or the Union

Territory Administration, as the case may be, to comply with one or more of the conditions

stipulated in the in-principle approval and obtain final approval within five years from the

date of in-principal approval:

Provided such in-principal approval has not already been summarily revoked by the Central

Government;

Provided further that in such cases, apart from the report referred to in clause (b) above, the

State Government or the Union Territory Administration, as the case may be, shall also

submit to the Central Government, reason or reasons for delay in compliance to conditions

19 Substituted vide GSR 713(E) dated 10th Oct., 2014

20

stipulated in the in-principal approval.

19 (e) Procedure stipulated in clause (a) to (e), shall also be applicable to the cases where

mining lease expires or has already expired within the period of ten years from the date of

grant of in-principal approval under the Act, even if final approval under the Act for

diversion of such forest land has been granted prior to the expiry of the mining lease:

Provided that in such cases, in place of a report on compliance to conditions stipulated in the

in-principal approval, a report on compliance to conditions stipulated in the final approval

under the Act for diversion of such forest land during the validity of the original lease period

shall be submitted to the Central Government by the State Government or the Union

Territory Administration, as the case may be.

9. Proceedings against persons guilty of offences under the Act -

(1) The Central Government may, by notification, authorize any officer not below the rank of

Conservator of Forests or the concerned forest officer having territorial jurisdiction over the

forest land in respect of which the said offence is said to have been committed, to file

complaints against the person (s) prima-facie found guilty of offence under the Act or the

violation of the rules made thereunder, in the court having jurisdiction in the matter.

Provided that no complaint shall be filed in the court, without giving the person(s) or officer

(s) or authority (s) against whom the allegations of offence exist, an opportunity to explain

his or their conduct and to show cause, by issuing a notice in writing of not less than sixty

days, as to why a complaint should not be filed in the court against him or them for alleged

offences.

(2) The officer authorized by the Central Government in sub-rule (1) may require any State

Government or its officer or any person or any other authority to furnish to it within a

specified period any reports, documents, statistics and any other information related to

contravention of the Act or the rules made thereunder, considered necessary for making a

complaint in any court of jurisdiction and every such State Government or officer or person

or authority shall be bound to do so.

21

APPENDIX (See Rule 6)

FORM – ‘A’

Form for seeking prior approval under section 2 of the proposals by the

State Governments and other authorities

PART-I

(to be filled up by user agency)

1. Project details:

(i) Short narrative of the proposal and project/scheme for which the forest land is required.

(ii) Map showing the required forest land, boundary of adjoining forest on a 1:50,000 scale

map.

(iii) Cost of the project.

(iv) Justification for locating the project in forest area.

(v) Cost-benefit analysis (to be enclosed).

(vi) Employment likely to be generated.

2. Purpose-wise break-up of the total land required:

3. Details of displacement of people due to the project, if any:

(i) Number of families.

(ii) Number of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribe families

(iii) Rehabilitation plan (to be enclosed)

4. Whether clearance under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 required? (Yes/No).

5. Undertaking to bear the cost of raising and maintenance of compensatory afforestation and/or penal compensatory afforestation as well as cost for protection and regeneration of

Safety Zone, etc. as per the scheme prepared by the State Government (undertaking to be

enclosed).

6. Details of Certificates/documents enclosed as required under the instructions.

Signature

(Name in Block letters)

Designation

Address (of User Agency)

Date: -_____________

Place: -_____________

State serial No. of proposal________________

(To be filled up by the Nodal Officer with date of receipt)

22

PART-II

(To be filled by the concerned Deputy Conservator of Forests)

State serial No. of proposal________________

7. Location of the project/Scheme:

i) State/Union Territory

ii) District

iii) Forest Division

iv) Area of forest land proposed for diversion (in ha.)

v) Legal status of forest

vi) Density of vegetation

vii) Species-wise (scientific names) and diameter class-wise enumeration of trees (to be enclosed. In case of irrigation / hydel projects enumeration at FRL, FRL-2 meter &

FRL-4 meter also to be enclosed.)

viii) Brief note on vulnerability of the forest area to erosion.

ix) Approximate distance of proposed site for diversion from boundary of forest.

x) Whether forms part of National Park, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve, tiger reserve, elephant corridor, etc. (If so, the details of the area and comments of the

Chief Wildlife Warden to be annexed).

xi) Whether any rare/endangered/unique species of flora and fauna found in the area- if so, details thereof.

xii) Whether any protected archaeological/heritage site/defence establishment or any other important monument is located in the area. If so, the details thereof with

NOC from competent authority, if required.

8. Whether the requirement of forest land as proposed by the user agency in col. 2 of Part-I is unavoidable and barest minimum for the project. If no, recommended area item-wise

with details of alternatives examined.

9. Whether any work in violation of the Act has been carried out (Yes/No). If yes, details of the same including period of work done, action taken on erring officials. Whether work

in violation is still in progress.

10. Details of compensatory afforestation scheme:

i) Details of non-forest area/degraded forest area identified for compensatory afforestation, its distance from adjoining forest, number of patches, size of each

patch.

ii) Map showing non-forest/degraded forest area identified for compensatory afforestation and adjoining forest boundaries.

iii) Detailed compensatory afforestation scheme including species to be planted, implementing agency, time schedule, cost structure, etc.

iv) Total financial outlay for compensatory afforestation scheme.

v) Certificates from competent authority regarding suitability of area identified for

23

compensatory afforestation and from management point of view. (To be signed by

the concerned Deputy Conservator of Forests).

11. Site inspection report of the DCF (to be enclosed) especially highlighting facts asked in col. 7 (xi, xii), 8 and 9 above.

12. Division/District profile:

i) Geographical area of the district.

ii) Forest area of the district.

iii) Total forest area diverted since 1980 with number of cases.

iv) Total compensatory afforestation stipulated in the district/division since 1980 on

(a) forest land including penal compensatory afforestation,

(b) non-forest land.

v) Progress of compensatory afforestation as on (date) _______________ on

(a) forest land

(b) non-forest land.

13. Specific recommendations of the DCF for acceptance or otherwise of the proposal with

reasons.

Signature

Name

Official Seal

Date: -_____________

Place: -_____________

24

PART-III

(To be filled by the concerned Conservator of Forests)

14. Whether site, where the forest land involved is located has been inspected by concerned Conservator of Forests (Yes/No). If yes, the date of inspection & observations made in

form of inspection note to be enclosed.

15. Whether the concerned Conservator of Forests agree with the information given in Part-B and the recommendations of Deputy Conservator of Forests.

16. Specific recommendation of concerned Conservator of Forests for acceptance or otherwise of the proposal with detailed reasons.

Signature

Name

Official Seal

Date: -_____________

Place: -_____________

PART-IV

(To be filled in by the Nodal Officer or Principal Chief Conservator of

Forests or Head of Forest Force department)

17. Detailed opinion and specific recommendation of the State Forest Department for

acceptance or otherwise of the proposal with remarks.

(While giving opinion, the adverse comments made by concerned Conservator of Forests

or Deputy Conservator of Forests should be categorically reviewed and critically

commented upon).

Signature

Name & Designation

Official Seal

Date: -_____________

Place: -_____________

PART- V

(To be filled in by the Secretary in charge of Forest Department or by any other

authorised officer of the State Government not below the rank of an Under Secretary)

18. Recommendation of the State Government:

(Adverse comments made by any officer or authority in Part-B or Part-C or Part-D above

should be specifically commented upon)

Signature

Name

Official Seal

Date: -_____________

Place: -_____________

25

INSTRUCTIONS (for Part-I)

1. The project authorities may annex a copy of the approved project/plan in addition to filling Col. 1 (i) e.g. IBM approved mining plan for major minerals/CMPDI plan with

subsidence analysis reports, etc.

2. Map has to be in original and duly authenticated jointly by project authorities and concerned DCF – Col. 1 (ii).

3. Complete details of alternative alignments examined especially in case of project like roads, transmission lines, railway lines, canals, etc. to be shown on map with details

of area of forest land involved in each alternative to be given - Col. 1 (iii).

4. For proposals relating to mining, certificate from competent authority like District Mining Officer about non-availability of the same mineral in surrounding/nearby non-

forest areas.

5. In case the same company/individual has taken forest land for similar project in the State, a brief detail of all such approvals/leases be given as an enclosure along with

current status of the projects.

6. The latest clarifications issued by the Ministry under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 may be kept in mind. In case such information do not fit in the given columns, the

same shall be annexed separately.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: -

1. On receipt of proposal, Nodal Officer shall issue a receipt to the user agency indicating therein the name of the proposal, user agency, area in hectare, serial

number and date of receipt.

2. If the space provided above is not sufficient to specify any information, please attach separate details/documents.

3. While forwarding the proposal to the Central Government, complete details on all aspects of the case as per Form prescribed above read with the clarifications issued by

the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, New Delhi should be

given. Incomplete or deficient proposals shall not be considered and shall be returned

to the State Government in original.

4. The State Government shall submit the proposal to the Central Government within stipulated time limits. In case of delay while forwarding, the reasons for the same to

be given in the forwarding/covering letter.

26

FORM – ‘B’

(See Rule 6)

Form for seeking prior approval under section 2 of the proposals by the State

Governments and other authorities in respect of renewal of leases, which have been

earlier granted clearance under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

PART-I

(to be filled up by user agency)

1. Letter No. & date vide which clearance under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 accorded by the Central Government (copy to be enclosed):

2. Project details:

(i) Short narrative of the proposal and project/scheme for which the forest land is

required.

(ii) Map showing the required forest land, boundary of adjoining forest on a 1:50,000

scale map.

(iii) Cost of the project:

3. Purpose-wise break-up of the total land required (already broken & to be broken):

4. Details of Certificates/documents enclosed as required under the instructions.

Signature

(Name in Block letters)

Designation

Address (of User Agency)

Date:___________

Place: __________

State serial No. of proposal________________

(To be filled up by the Nodal Officer with date of receipt)

27

PART-II

(To be filled by the concerned Deputy Conservator of Forests)

State serial No. of proposal________________

5. Location of the project/Scheme:

i) State/Union Territory

ii) District.

iii) Forest Division

iv) Area of forest land proposed for diversion (in ha.)

v) Legal status of forest

vi) Density of vegetation.

vii) Species-wise (scientific names) and diameter class-wise enumeration of trees in unbroken area.

viii) Whether forms part of National Park, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve, tiger reserve, elephant corridor, etc. (If so, the details of the area and comments of the

Chief Wildlife Warden to be annexed).

6. Whether any work in violation of the Act has been carried out (Yes/No). If yes, details of the same including period of work done, action taken on erring officials. Whether work in

violation is still in progress.

7. Site inspection report of the DCF (to be enclosed) in respect to status of compliance of conditions stipulated during earlier approval.

8. Division/District profile:

i) Geographical area of the district.

ii) Forest area of the district.

iii) Total forest area diverted since 1980 with number of cases.

iv) Total compensatory afforestation stipulated in the district/division since 1980 on

(a) forest land including penal compensatory afforestation,

(b) non-forest land.

v) Progress of compensatory afforestation as on (date) _____________on

(a) forest land

(b) non-forest land.

9. Specific recommendations of the DCF for acceptance or otherwise of the proposal with reasons.

Signature

Name

Official Seal

Date: -_____________

Place: -_____________

28

PART-III

(To be filled by the concerned Conservator of Forests)

10. Whether site, where the forest land involved is located has been inspected by concerned Conservator of Forests (Yes/No). If yes, the date of inspection & observations made in

form of inspection note to be enclosed.

11. Whether the concerned Conservator of Forests agree with the information given in Part-B and the recommendations of Deputy Conservator of Forests.

12. Specific recommendation of concerned Conservator of Forests for acceptance or otherwise of the proposal with detailed reasons.

Signature

Name

Official Seal

Date: -_____________

Place: -_____________

PART-IV

(To be filled in by the Nodal Officer or Principal Chief Conservator of

Forests or Head of Forest department)

13. Detailed opinion and specific recommendation of the State Forest Department for

acceptance or otherwise of the proposal with remarks.

(While giving opinion, the adverse comments made by concerned Conservator of Forests or

Deputy Conservator of Forests should be categorically reviewed and critically commented

upon).

Signature

Name

Official Seal

Date: -_____________

Place: -_____________

PART- V

(To be filled in by the Secretary in charge of Forest Department or by any other

authorised officer of the State Government not below the rank of an Under Secretary)

14. Recommendation of the State Government:

(Adverse comments made by any officer or authority in Part-B or Part-C or Part-D above

should be specifically commented upon)

Signature

Name

Official Seal

Date: -_____________

Place: -_____________

29

INSTRUCTIONS (for Part-I)

1. The project authorities may annex a copy of the approved project/plan in addition to filling Col. 2 (i) e.g. IBM approved mining plan for major minerals/CMPDI plan with

subsidence analysis reports, etc.

2. Map has to be in original duly authenticated jointly by project authorities and concerned DCF – Col. 2 (ii).

3. In case the same company/individual has taken forest land for similar project in the State, a brief detail of all such approvals/leases be given as an enclosure along with

current status of the projects.

4. Item-wise requirement (Col. 3) should be separately shown for broken up and fresh areas.

5. The latest clarifications issued by the Ministry under Forest (Conservation) 
Act, 1980 may be kept in mind. In case such information do not fit in the given columns,

the same shall be annexed separately.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

1. On receipt of proposal, Nodal Officer shall issue a receipt to the user agency indicating therein the name of the proposal, user agency, area in hectare, serial

number and date of receipt.

2. If the space provided above is not sufficient to specify any information, please attach separate details/documents.

3. While forwarding the proposal to the Central Government, complete details on all aspects of the case as per Form prescribed above read with the clarifications issued by

the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, New Delhi should be

given. Incomplete or deficient proposals shall not be considered and shall be returned

to the State Government in original.

4. The State Government shall submit the proposal to the Central Government within stipulated time limits. In case of delay while forwarding, the reasons for the same to

be given in the forwarding/covering letter.

30

20FORM- ‘C’

(Form for seeking prior approval under section 2 of the proposals by the State

Governments and other authorities for prospecting of minerals in forest land)

PART – I

(to be filled up by User Agency)

1. Project detail:

i) Name, address and contact details of the User Agency:

ii) Legal status of the User Agency:

iii) Name, designation and full address of the person making application:

iv) Documents in support of the competence or authority of the person making this application to make application on behalf of the User Agency enclosed: (Yes/No)

v) Mineral commodity to be explored:

vi) Short narrative of the activities proposed to be undertaken in both forest and non-forest land:

vii) Details of approvals accorded by the concerned Ministry or Department in the State or Central Government, as the case may be, for grant of prospecting license in favour of

the User Agency:

viii) Details of forest land non-forest land included in the prospecting lease:

ix) Total area of forest land required for prospecting: (a) Area of forest land likely to experience permanent change in land use (b) Area of forest land likely to experience

temporary change in land use

x) Total period for which the forest land is proposed to be utilised for prospecting:

xi) Estimated cost of the project:

xii) Details of forest land diverted earlier, if any, in favour of the User Agency in the State or Union territory along with current status of the use of such forest land:

xiii) Details of permission accorded earlier, if any, in favour of the User Agency for prospecting of minerals in forest land along with current status of prospecting in each

case:

2. Details of Maps enclosed

(i) Survey of India topo-sheet(s), in original in 1:50,000 scale showing boundary of

prospecting block; boundary of each patch of forest land located within the prospecting

block; location of each sample plot or borehole site, roads or pathway (existing as well

as new pathway to be shown separately) to be used for transportation of drilling

equipment; boundary of the adjoining forests and protected areas located within ten

(10) Kilometers distance from boundary of forest land identified for prospecting

etc.:(Yes/No).

Note 1: In case Survey of India Toposheet in 1: 50,000 scale is not available, especially

in case of the areas located near International Borders and other strategic locations, in

place of Survey of India Toposheet other maps available in public domain may also be

20 Inserted vide GSR 185(E) dated 14th March, 2014.

31

used.

Note 2: Due to technical reasons, while undertaking the prospecting activities, the user

agency may vary location of boreholes, sample plots, roads or paths etc. up to 300

meters, provided area of forest land proposed to be utilised and number of trees

proposed to be cut does not exceed the same given in the proposal.

3. (i) Justification for prospecting in forest land:

(ii) Details of alternatives examined;

(iii) Detail of non-invasive prospecting activities, if any, undertaken by the user agency

in the forest land indicated in the extant proposal:

4. Whether the forest land identified for prospecting is located in scheduled areas (Yes/No);

5. Details of activities proposed to be undertaken in forest land;

(i) Surface sampling

(a) Grab sampling

(b) Chip sampling

(c) Groove sampling

(d) Channel sampling

(e) Bulk sampling

(f) Geochemical grid sampling with sample line spacing

(ii) Pitting or trenching

(a) Number and dimension of pits or trenches

(b) Total volume of excavation

(c) Area of forest land to be utilised for pits or trenches

(iii) Drilling

(a) Number and diameter of boreholes or wells

(b) Spacing of boreholes or wells

(c) Area to be temporarily disturbed at each bore hole or well

(d) Area, if any, to be permanently disturbed at each bore hole or well

(e) Total meterage of boreholes or wells

(f) Number of drill core samples

(g) Volume of drill core samples

(iv) Construction of roads or paths

(a) Length and width of roads or paths proposed to be constructed;

(b) Area of forest land proposed to be utilised for roads or paths;

(v) Any other activity (pl. specify)

32

6. Area of forest land likely to experience temporary change in land use due to:

(i) Surface sampling;

(ii) Pitting or trenching;

(iii) Drilling;

(iv) Construction of roads or paths;

(v) Any other activity (pl. specify.);

Total:

7. Area of forest land likely to experience permanent change in land use due to:

(i) Surface sampling;

(ii) Pitting or trenching;

(iii) Drilling;

(iv) Construction of roads/paths;

(v) Any other activity (pl. specify.);

Total:

8. Details of machinery or equipment to be deployed for prospecting:

Sl. No.

Name of

equipment

or

machinery

Mode of

traction

Size

(L x B x H)

Estimated

deployment

(machine

hours)

Maximum

noise level

(decibel)

9. Details of existing paths or roads proposed to be utilised for transport of the equipment or machines in the forest land;

10. Approximate number and approximate duration of stay in the forest land of the persons proposed to be deployed for prospecting;

11. Summary of the estimated quantity of ore and other samples proposed to be collected during the prospecting (not applicable for hydrocarbon sector):

Sl.

No. Details of samples

Qty. proposed to be collected

(Metric Tonne)

33

12. Estimated accuracy and confidence level for mineral reserve assessment;

13. Estimated accuracy and confidence level in case number of bore holes proposed to be drilled are reduced by:

Accuracy (%) Confidence Level %

(i) 10 %: .................... .....................

(ii) 20%: .................... .....................

(iii) 30 %: .................... .....................

(iv) 40%: .................... .....................

(v) 50 %: .................... .....................

14. In case the proposal is for extension of the period of the permission granted for prospecting, or for drilling of additional bore holes, please provide following

additional information:

(i) Details of approval accorded under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 in the past:

(ii) Report on status of compliance to the conditions stipulated in the approval

accorded in the past enclosed (Yes/No)

(iii) Details of violation(s), if any committed.

(iv) Justification for extension of permission accorded for prospecting.

(v) Details of prospecting activities undertaken, and sample collected, so far.

15. Details of documents enclosed: ..........................

Signature

(Name in Block letters)

Designation

Address (of User Agency)

Date: ..........

Place: ..........

State serial No. of proposal ---------------

(To be filled up by the Nodal Officer with date of receipt)

Sl. No.

Number and date

of the approval

accorded

Area of forest land

permitted for

prospecting (ha)

Validity period of

approval

From

To

34

PART – II

(To be filled by the concerned Deputy Conservator of Forests)

Division serial No. of proposal-----------------

16. Location of the project or scheme:

(i) State/Union Territory

(ii) District

(iii) Forest Division

(iv) Area of forest land proposed to be utilised for prospecting.

17. Legal status of forest land identified for prospecting.

18. Details of vegetation available in the forest land proposed for diversion:

i) Forest type;

ii) Average crown density of vegetation;

iii) Species-wise local or scientific names and girth-wise enumeration of trees required to be felled;

iv) Working plan prescription for the forest land proposed to be utilised for prospecting.

19. Brief note on topography and vulnerability of the forest land proposed to be utilised for

prospecting to erosion.

20. Approximate distance of the forest land proposed to be utilised for prospecting from

boundary of the forest land.

21. Significance of the forest land proposed to be utilised for prospecting from wildlife point of view:

i) Details of wildlife present in and around the forest land proposed to be utilised for prospecting;

ii) Whether forms part of national park, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve, tiger reserve, elephant corridor, wildlife migration corridor etc., (If so, the details of the

area and comments of the Chief Wildlife Warden to be annexed);

iii) Whether any national park, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve, tiger reserve, elephant corridor, wildlife migration corridor etc., is located within ten kilometers

from boundary of the forest land proposed to be utilised for prospecting (If so, the

details of the area and comments of the Chief Wildlife Warden to be annexed);

iv) Whether any national park, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve, tiger reserve, elephant corridor, wildlife migration corridor etc., is located within one kilometer

from boundary of the forest land proposed to be utilised for prospecting (If so, the

details of the area and comments of the Chief Wildlife Warden to be annexed);

v) Whether any rare or endangered or unique species of flora and fauna found in the area - if so, details thereof.

22. Whether any protected archaeological or heritage site or defense establishment or any other important monument is located in the area – (If so, details thereof with no-

objection certificate (NOC) from competent authority to be annexed).

35

23. Comment as to the reasonability of the extent of the forest land proposed to be utilised for prospecting:

i) Whether the requirement of forest land as proposed by the User Agency in para 6 and para-7 of the Part – I is unavoidable and bare minimum for the project.

ii) If no, recommended area of forest land which may be used for prospecting.

24. Details of violation committed:

i) Whether any work in violation of the Act or guidelines issued under the Act has been carried out (Yes/No).

ii) If yes, details of the violation including period of work done, area of forest land involved in violation, name, address and designation of the person(s) responsible

for violation and action taken against the person(s) responsible for violation;

iii) Whether work in violation is still in progress (Yes/No):

25. Details of compensatory afforestation scheme:

i) Legal status of the land identified to raise compensatory afforestation;

ii) Details such as location, Survey or Compartment or Khasra number, area and distance from adjoining forest of each plot of non-forest area